


Lights Out

by BunniesofDoom



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Exhaustion, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Volume 7 (RWBY), Yang Xiao Long Needs a Hug, let ruby sleep 2021, side effects of magical powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:41:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28920759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunniesofDoom/pseuds/BunniesofDoom
Summary: Ruby's . . . tired.
Relationships: Ruby Rose & Team RWBY, Ruby Rose & Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 5
Kudos: 50





	Lights Out

**Author's Note:**

> This ended up longer than I originally planned (and angstier), but I think I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Enjoy!

Today has been the longest day of Ruby's life. Between fighting their way to Atlas, finding out that Penny was alive, and their meeting with Ironwood, by the time Ruby barely has enough energy to change into their school-issued pajamas before passing out in her bunk.

Might as well get some rest while she can. They'll have a lot to do in the morning, now that they've finally made it to Atlas.

Those are Ruby's last coherent thoughts before the pull of sleep becomes too strong to resist, and she gratefully drifts off into peaceful blackness. Sleep has never sounded so good.

All of the girls sleep in the day after their arrival in Atlas, exhausted by the difficult journey and the events of the day before. Even Weiss, ever the early riser, doesn't wake up until almost eight. (For her, that's practically the equivalent of sleeping in until noon.) But when even Yang, who has been known to wake up in the late afternoon after a night of having too much fun, is showered, dressed, and drinking coffee before Ruby even shows any signs of stirring from her slumber, her teammates start to become a little concerned.

"Hey, Rubes." Yang plops down on the bed next to her sister, frowning slightly when Ruby doesn't so much as twitch in response to the weight on the bed next to her. "C'mon, sleepyhead, it's time to wake up." When Ruby still doesn't respond, Yang shakes her shoulders gently and taps at her face. Her sister remains deeply asleep, breathing slow and deep and even, utterly oblivious to the world around her.

"And here I thought you were the heavier sleeper out of the two of you," Blake muses.

"I am." Yang's frown deepens as she stares at her sister's peaceful face. "I don't get it. Usually, Ruby would wake up at the slightest noise. I've never seen her like this—except for . . ." The end of her sentence trails off as she falls silent.

"Except for what?" Weiss asks. "Has something like this happened before?"

"Well, sort of." Yang bites her lip. "You guys remember that at the Fall of Beacon, she unlocked her weird silver-eye powers, right?"

Weiss and Blake exchange a glance, nodding. "But what does that have to do with Ruby suddenly being a really deep sleeper now?" Weiss asks.

"After what happened on top of Beacon Tower, Ruby was in a coma for weeks," Yang says quietly, suddenly sounding very small. "And it was a lot like this, where she just fell asleep and wouldn't wake up again. She wouldn't react to anything happening around her. And it just makes me think—she used a lot of power yesterday, freezing that giant Grimm in its tracks. What if—what if something similar is happening this time?"

"So, you think that your sister might have fallen into a coma because of what she can do with her eyes?" Weiss raises an eyebrow, masking her concern with skepticism.

Yang sighs heavily. "I don't know. Maybe."

"If that's the case, what should we do?" Blake asks. "Should we tell someone?"

"I don't know," Yang says again. "Last time, Dad had a bunch of doctors look at Ruby while she was out, but there wasn't much that they could do to help her. She just ended up having to come out of it on her own."

"Plus, we'd have to explain what happened," Blake points out. "And I'm not sure that Ruby wants us telling anyone about what she can do yet."

"So, what do we do?" Weiss glances at her teammates as if hoping for some sort of guidance. "Just sit and here and wait and hope that she wakes up soon?"

Weiss had meant to sound sarcastic, but she's taken aback when Yang nods. "Honestly, yeah. We should just keep an eye on her for now and hope for the best. She's more used to using her powers this time around, so maybe it won't take as long for her to come out of it this time around."

"Ironwood did tell us to rest for a couple of days while our weapons are being worked on, so it shouldn't be that hard to keep this among ourselves for the time being," Blake adds.

"But if she's out for longer than that, we're probably going to have to tell someone," Weiss finishes with a sigh.

"She'll be awake by then," Yang says firmly. "I don't want to go through this again. Please, Ruby."

Her sister remains blissfully unaware of her surroundings, face slack and peaceful as she sleeps on.

None of them want to leave Ruby on her own, in case she wakes up while they're away, so they take turns leaving the room anytime one of them needs something. Weiss makes a trip to the library, returning with a stack of books for her and Blake. Blake is on coffee and/or tea duty, making multiple trips to keep everyone's cups full. Yang volunteers to be the one that goes to the cafeteria to bring back lunch and dinner for everyone to eat at the small table in their room.

Every once in a while, Ruby will snore loudly, or turn over to her sleep, making them all immediately turn to look at her, hopeful that she's finally coming around. But much to their disappointment and concern, Ruby just sleeps on, showing no signs that she plans on waking up anytime soon.

Midway through the afternoon, Penny stops by the girls' dorm, knocking loudly on the door. Yang, who has been attempting to concentrate on playing video games on her scroll to distract herself while the others read, eagerly jumps up at the interruption. "Hello?" she says as she answers the door, angling her body so that whoever is outside can't see into the room.

"Salutations, Yang Xiao Long!" Penny greets her brightly. "Is there any chance I could speak to Ruby? I was hoping to catch up for a bit."

Yang glances back at her sister, hoping that by some miracle Ruby will have woken up in the past five seconds and can come talk to Penny herself. No such luck; Ruby is still sound asleep. "I'm sorry, Penny," she says, shooting the redhead an apologetic smile. "Ruby's taking a nap right now. She's pretty tired from everything that happened yesterday. I'll let her know that you stopped by. I'm sure that she'll want to catch up once she's awake."

"Of course! I understand." Penny smiles gratefully at Yang, although it's a little diminished from her usual brightness and enthusiasm. "I hope that you are all settling in well, and that your accommodations are to your liking!"

"They are," Yang reassures her. "Thanks, Penny."

As night falls over Atlas, the conscious members of team RWBY are quickly losing hope that their leader will wake sometime today. And none of them are really in any condition to pull an all-night vigil to watch over her. They'll just have to leave her for now and hope that she manages to wake up sometime during the night.

With their luck, she'll definitely come to sometime during the night and insist on stumbling loudly around the dorm, waking them all up.

Ruby can't remember the last time she felt this well-rested. As she forces her heavy eyelids open, she can see the faint light from the sun rising on the horizon. Huh. She doesn't usually wake up this early. As she scrubs at her eyes, she yawns loudly and does her best to stretch out the stiffness in her neck. "Anyone else feel like they slept for forever, or is it just me?" she muses quietly, swinging legs over the side of the bunk.

Her three teammates all jolt awake in unison at the sound of their leader's soft voice. "Ruby?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please comment and leave kudos if you liked it.


End file.
